The Great Creature Caper
by deepfathom
Summary: Chris and Martin accidentally find themselves out of their element at the biggest international villain convention on the planet. And guess who's serving dinner?
1. Detour

***A/N: So, I said I probably wouldn't write another WK story…yeah, I lied. I was yet again ambushed by a plotline early in the morning while half-asleep. Surprise! :D And this isn't supposed to be the most "canonical" WK story ever written. Pretty much just writing it for sheer goofiness' sake. And trust me, there will be much goofiness. **

**Chapter 1**

**Detour**

"Man, I'm beat!" Chris flopped down in the tall grass under the shade of a scrubby tree.

Martin wiped the sweat off his forehead and sank down as well. "I hear ya, bro. Chasing after a pack of African wild dogs on a hunt can really take it out of a guy."

"So can tripping over your brother while he's on the ground trying to get footage of the chase."

Martin stuck out his tongue. "That was an accident and you know it."

Chris grinned and snorted, about to retort when his attention was snagged by something moving through the grass about twenty feet away. He sat up quickly, listening hard. They hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings, which wasn't the smartest thing to do out on the savannah.

"Hey!" Chris whispered, looking over at his brother. "Did you hear that?"

Martin nodded and came over, keeping low to the ground. Both of them crouched behind the fringe of grass, trying to get a glimpse of whatever was sneaking around without exposing more than their eyes and the tops of their heads.

"What do you think it is?" asked Martin.

Chris shrugged. "Who knows? I just hope it's not hungry for 'Kratt brother'."

The weeds gave a rustle, causing them to jump a little.

"Heh-heh-heh!"

The two looked at each other, baffled.

"What's so funny?" Chris asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I didn't laugh… This is creepy. Let's get outta here!"

Before they could hightail it in the opposite direction, something white popped up out of the grass. Something wearing a chef's hat, carrying a bulging knapsack, and sporting a nasty grin.

"Gourmand!" The brothers said at the same time.

"He's captured an animal!" Martin said, starting forward. "We've got to stop him!"

"Wait!" Chris held him back as Gourmand turned and bounded off. "We can't just jump out and demand he let whatever's in the bag go."

"Why not?"

"That _never_ works, remember? Let's follow him and go from there."

Twenty minutes later, after an exhausting trek filled with much ducking behind trees and diving into bushes to remain safely inconspicuous, Chris and Martin found themselves within view of Gourmand's temporary base. A large cargo plane with the back gaping open was sitting in a wide, treeless swatch of ground.

"A cargo plane?" Martin said, scratching his head. "Why would he need a cargo plane?"

They watched as the chef jogged up the ramp and disappeared into the back of the aircraft. A few minutes later, he came back out minus the knapsack. Looking pleased with himself, he struck up one of his repertoire of tunes about cooking wild and endangered animals and made his way to the front of the plane.

"Ok, now's our chance," said Chris, stepping out from behind the boulder they were hiding behind.

"We'll have to make this quick," added Martin.

The two of them crept forward on tip-toes until they reached the ramp. Then they sped up into the plane…and came to a complete standstill in total shock. Lining the walls of the cargo area and spread around the floor were cages upon cages of what looked like a good sampling of every species of animal on the planet. A few of them looked very familiar.

"Thornsley!" Chris gasped, stepping inside to get to the baby elephant standing in a cage. "And he's got Blur and her cub too!"

"I take it back," gulped Martin. "This rescue might take a while."

"Where do we even start?!" Chris asked, grabbing his hair.

"Good question. We're gonna need some serious backup for this one." He reached for his creature pod, but at that moment, the horribly off-key strains of Gourmand's song floated to their ears again. "Oh no! He's on his way back!"

Without a moment's hesitation, they dashed passed the captive animals and into the deepest, darkest corner they could find. But it wasn't going to be good enough.

"Now what?" asked Chris, looking around desperately.

Martin held up the answer: a large, black canvas tarp. "Look what I found!"

"Great! Camouflage! He'll never see us in the dark now." Chris grabbed a corner to help Martin as he threw it over themselves. Thankfully, a small hole in the thick fabric allowed them to peek out from inside it. Just as they got situated, Gourmand entered the cargo area holding a pencil and notepad. He inhaled deeply through his nose.

"Aaahhh," he sighed. "I just _love_ the smell o' wildlife waitin' to be cooked up and served to high payin' customers! Now, all I need t'do before takeoff is make sure I got what I need for the African Savannah Buffet Bar. Hmm…"

Chris and Martin's jaws dropped as the chef crossed the room and turned around to observe his massive haul. They held their breath as he glanced at his notepad and backed up, coming closer and closer. He only stopped when his heel came down right on top of one of Chris's partially exposed feet.

"AAmmf—"

"Shhh!" Martin quickly clamped a hand over Chris's mouth, muffling his sharp yelp of pain.

Fortunately for them, Gourmand was too absorbed in his list to hear anything out of the ordinary, but unfortunately for Chris, he showed no signs of moving any time soon.

"Hmm, lemme see," he said, glancing around his cargo room full of animals. His pencil scratched on the surface of the paper as he checked his list. "Ostrich eggs for my soufflés and savory omelets, cheetahs for a delicious quiche, one baby elephant for a batch of 'elephant hors d' oeuvres', leopards for 'leopard pies'…" The list went on for several more minutes before Gourmand tossed the notepad aside and rubbed his hands together. "Mmm-mm! This is gonna be my _best_ banquet spread yet!"

_Banquet?!_ Martin mouthed to his brother in horror.

With a cackle, Gourmand finally got off Chris's foot and dashed out of the cargo area. Martin made sure to keep his hand firmly over Chris's mouth until he was sure the chef was well out of hearing range. As soon as he let him go, Chris went berserk.

"AAAGH!" he shrieked, grabbing his foot and hopping around. "OW! OW-OW-OW-OW-OWWWWW—Whoa!" Losing his balance, he smacked right into his unprepared brother.

"AAACK!"

The two of them toppled over in a tangle of tarp, after which it took them at least five more minutes of squawking and wriggling to finally free themselves.

"Whoo!" Martin huffed as he crawled out from under their former hiding spot. "That was intense."

"Tell me about it," Chris grumbled. "Gourmand's not exactly the lightest guy around…" he trailed off. "Wait a second. Does it seem like it just got a lot darker in here?"

Martin's eyes darted around the room a few times. "Ummm…yeah—OH NO!" He shot up from the ground and ran past the animals in the cages to the now closed door of the cargo area. Skidding to a stop, he banged on the thick metal a few times, but it was no use. "We're trapped! Wherever Gourmand's going, we're going there too!"

"Which is really, _really_ bad."

Martin turned to find his brother staring wide-eyed at a piece of paper in his hands. "What's that?"

Chris held it up. "This was tucked inside the notepad. It's…it's an invitation to an annual international convention of villains…the biggest one in the _world_!"


	2. Rock N' Roll

**Chapter 2**

**Rock N' Roll**

Back at the Tortuga, Aviva lifted up the welding visor she'd been wearing while working on her latest invention. With a contented sigh, she sat back and folded her arms to admire her handiwork.

"Hey, Aviva," Jimmy greeted on his way to a seat, a piece of pizza in one hand and two drinks balanced on the other. "Want a soda?"

Aviva stood up and dusted off. "What flavor?"

"Orange."

"Yum!"

Jimmy tossed the can over and she caught it, careful not to shake it up too much. She popped it open and was about to take a refreshing slurp when Koki stepped into the room. Without a word, she plopped into a chair in front of her control panel, scowling. Aviva and Jimmy exchanged a look, wondering what was up.

"Uh, Koki?" Aviva started.

"Do I need a break, or what?" she grumbled. "I've been trying to work out a bug in the main operating system of the Tortuga all morning. Every time I think I have it, POOF! Something else wigs out and it's back to square one! We're grounded here on the savannah until I get this fixed."

Jimmy looked down at the can of soda he hadn't even touched yet. "Here," he handed it to Koki. "You need this more than I do."

She attempted half a smile. "Thanks, Jimmy Z."

Aviva put a hand on her shoulder. "Take your time, Koki. You'll figure it out. I just hope Chris and Martin don't suddenly need to be rescued any time soon."

As if on cue, the main screen flickered on, revealing the faces of two very worried looking Kratt brothers.

"You were saying?" Koki muttered under her breath.

"Tortuga HQ!" Chris called. "Come in Tortuga!" The image on the screen shifted violently and fizzled for a few seconds.

Aviva darted over to the control panel and started tapping buttons.

"Chris! Martin! We hear you. What's wrong?" The image cut in again just in time for them to witness the two brothers being jerked off their feet.

"What's going on?" Jimmy quickly joined her in front of the screen. "Are you guys in the middle of an earthquake?"

Martin reappeared on the screen. "No! We're in the back of a cargo plane—AAAGH!" He went flying out of view again.

"A cargo plane?" Koki asked. "I thought you two were out chasing after wild dogs on the savannah?"

Chris managed to regain his footing. "We were, but Gourmand showed up and—WHOAWHOAWHOA!" Arms pin wheeling, he tipped over backwards.

For a few seconds, all the crew could get was more yelling between bouts of static as the brothers struggled to find something to hang on to long enough to talk. Finally, both Chris and Martin steadied themselves.

"This is Gourmand's plane," Martin gasped. "He flies like a maniac! And he's got enough animals stashed in here to start a small zoo!"

"Yeah, and they're all on the menu for the biggest international villain convention in the world!"

"WHAT?!" the crew blurted all at once.

"But how did you get stuck in his plane in the first place?" asked Aviva.

"And how're you gonna save all those animals?" Jimmy piped up.

"We followed him in here, got cornered and then he shut the door and took off before we could get out," Martin explained.

Koki rolled her eyes. "Oh, brothers…"

"We can't do this by ourselves," added Chris. "You've gotta catch up to us in the Tortuga!"

"Uh…little problem, here," Aviva bit her lip.

"Aviva, we don't exactly have time for a problem."

"Yeah, well, about that…the Tortuga's grounded until further notice."

Koki grabbed a fistful of hair in each hand. "I knew it! I just _knew_ something like this would happen!"

All the color drained from both brothers' faces.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Martin.

"Um…no."

"Look, just hang in there, ok?" said Aviva, busy tapping away on the keyboard in a desperate attempt to start researching. "You make sure nobody eats those animals and we'll try to get a handle on the situation. You know, read up on this convention and try to keep tabs on where you end up. Hopefully we'll be off the ground by tomorrow at the latest."

"Tomorrow?!" Chris said. "We could be on a different continent by then! I don't know if we can manage—YIKES!" The two of them were thrown off their feet again and the screen went dark, dropping the crew into an awkward silence.

Koki stood up. "I should probably keep working on that bug…"

"I'll help." Jimmy sprinted out of the room after her.


	3. Pizza Panic and Plane Problemos

**Chapter 3**

**Pizza Panic and Plane Problemos**

"Ok, Jimmy," Koki said without looking up from the gaping hole in the top of the Tortuga, "hand me that screwdriver again."

Jimmy did as he was told, then took a bite out of his pizza slice. A shower of crumbs cascaded from his mouth into the dark opening.

Koki threw him an annoyed glance. "You're getting pizza in the circuitry! That's like, what, your third slice in the past ten minutes?"

"Sowwy!" Jimmy apologized through his huge mouthful. "I'm newvouth!"

"I'm nervous too, but you don't see me chowing down to make up for it. That's not very healthy. Now hand me the electrical tape."

He swallowed. "Here."

"Hmm," Koki mumbled to herself as Jimmy looked on curiously. "If I can just attach this red wire to this orange one, that should bypass the bug long enough for us to catch up with the guys—"

"Oops!" Jimmy said as his pizza slipped from his hands and fell right into the hole on top of the exposed wires.

Koki only had time to gasp before the pizza-covered wires issued a volley hot sparks, then burst into flames.

"AIIEEE!"

"YIPE!" Jimmy yelped, jumping back and nearly toppling off the steep side of the ship. Luckily, Koki snagged him by the front of the shirt before he fell. "Whadda we do, whadda we do?! HELP!"

At that moment, Aviva popped up out of the top hatch. "Who turned out the lights—YIKES!"

"Quick!" Koki blurted, still hanging on to Jimmy's shirt as he flapped his arms and continued to squawk. "Get the fire extinguisher!"

Aviva disappeared immediately and was barely gone ten seconds before she sprinted back and hopped on the roof. Then she let loose a spurt of white foam.

"Whooooa!" she yelled as the force of the white jet coming out of the canister nearly knocked her flat. Chaos ensued as the crew disappeared under what looked like a blizzard on top of a giant turtle in the middle of the African savannah.

Finally, the extinguisher ran out of foam leaving the three of them in shock, covered in white glop, and not really sure what had just happened. For a few seconds, nobody said a word as the smell of burnt cheese and melted electrical wiring mingled in the air.

Jimmy was the first to speak up. "I think the fire's out."

Koki turned to him, eyes narrowed. "You just _had_ to drop the pizza."

xxxx

Meanwhile, things aboard Gourmand's plane hadn't calmed down much. As soon as communication with the Tortuga cut out, the Kratt brothers had their hands full catching small falling animals in cages and trying not to get smashed under the bigger ones. It wasn't an easy job.

"Chris!" Martin, who was busy with a cage full of lemurs, shouted. "Flying clouded leopard cub, ten o' clock!"

Chris whipped around just in time to catch the cage. No sooner had he managed that than another one containing a very unhappy Tasmanian devil came toppling after it. Somehow, he caught that one with his foot.

"Martin," he yelped. "Little help over here!"

Martin put the lemurs safely on the ground and ran to rescue his overbalancing brother. In a matter of seconds, the other cages were on the floor as well.

"Whew!" said Chris. "That was close—AAGH!" The plane lurched suddenly, throwing them off their feet again.

"What's Gourmand trying to do?" Martin said, standing up uneasily. "A barrel-roll?! _I_ could fly better than this!"

Back on his feet as well, Chris was about to tell him that he hoped they would never have to test that theory when another jerk sent him hurtling forward right toward Martin. Arms flailing, there was nothing either of them could do but brace for impact.

"WATCH OUT!" he hollered.

Martin cringed. "Oo-hoo-hooo, this is gonna hurt—OOMF!"

The two collided hard, landing in a heap on the floor.

xxxx

Aviva, Jimmy, and Koki descended into the dark Tortuga, dripping with foam and eager to assess the damage one little piece of half-eaten pizza had caused. Once inside, Aviva and Koki ran for the giant control panel while Jimmy decided to check to see if the fridge was still cold inside.

After punching a few buttons, the two girls came to a nasty realization.

"Oh no!" Aviva said. "All the main power is offline! Without power, we're…we're stranded here indefinitely! And that means the brothers are on their way to the biggest disaster they've ever gotten themselves into and we can't help them!"

Jimmy pulled his head out of the fridge and closed the door, apparently not having heard what she'd just said. "Hey, the leftovers'll be ok as long as we keep the door closed."

"C'mon," Koki smacked her forehead, "the leftovers don't matter right now! In fact, _your_ leftovers are what got us into this mess in the first place!"

Aviva stood up. "Y'know, Jimmy, that pizza of yours just immobilized a highly specialized, technologically superior turtle ship. Maybe you should think about what it must be doing to your insides every time you eat it."

Jimmy gulped, clutching at his stomach.


	4. Wake Up Call

**Chapter 4**

**Wake Up Call**

Martin came back to his senses flat on his stomach and completely disoriented. For a minute or two, he couldn't figure out why it sounded like he was in a really crowded zoo or why he felt like there was a sack of potatoes on his back. And who was whacking him on the head over and over and making that trumpeting sound right in his ear?! He decided he should open his eyes for a look around.

Slowly, he slid one eye open, then the other. A sideways view of the inside of a dim room scattered with cages full of every animal imaginable swam into focus. Fur and feathers floated through the air along with the incredible racket only a bunch of unhappy animals could make. And there was that whack on the head again—then it dawned on him where he was.

With a gasp, he lifted up his head and came face-to-face with the end of a long, grey trunk hovering just in front of him.

"Thornsley!" he said, smiling a little as the baby elephant reached through the cage again and gave him a pat on the nose. "Thanks for wakin' me up, buddy. Oh _man_," he winced and rubbed his head where he'd smacked into his brother at full speed. "That really hurt."

Martin started to get off the ground, but didn't get very far because of the mysterious weight on top of him.

"OOF!" he huffed, then craned his head around to see what was holding him down. Sprawled crossways over his back where he must have landed once they hit the ground, was none other than a very limp Chris. Martin reached back and poked him.

"Yo, Chris! Wake up!"

He didn't move. Evidently, the knock on the noggin had been a little harder on his end. Martin tried again, this time giving him a nudge.

"Chris? Chriiiiis? Can ya hear me, bro?"

Chris muttered something unintelligible, so Martin gave him shake, hoping to get more of a response. Suddenly, his head popped up from the ground, eyes flying open. "Wha…?" He took a quick glance around the room. "What happened?"

"Maybe I'll fill you in if you get off," Martin grunted, pushing up and letting Chris roll to the floor.

"Ow…" he mumbled. "That was some collision."

"Yeah," replied Martin. "All the animals are ok as far as I can tell, just a little shaken up."

Chris pushed into a sitting position, rubbing his head. "Speaking of 'shaking', we've stopped moving. Gourmand must have landed!"

"Yeah, but where?" Martin dashed to a tiny, grimy window on the far side of the plane, then gasped.

"What?" Chris joined him in two steps. "What do you see?"

"We've landed alright…in the middle of a North American city?!"

The brothers exchanged confused glances.

"How in the world did Gourmand land this thing _here_?"

Martin shrugged. "Who knows? We must've been out for hours."

"Wait a second…" Chris leaned in to squint through the window, "does that big, tall, shiny, black building out there look familiar to you at all?"

Martin gulped. "Oh no."

xxxx

Jimmy's pizza had really done a number on the main power. For hours the crew had tried every trick in the book to get it up and running again, but even after all that work, they were still in the dark. Exhausted, Jimmy and Koki finally decided to call it quits and take a break.

Jimmy, having sworn off pizza for the time being, was slumped in his seat, sound asleep with a stalk of celery in one hand. Koki, on the other hand, watched as Aviva paced in front of the blank screen of the main computer console. It was absolutely dizzying the way she muttered to herself while walking back and forth like that.

"Girl, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor. You could use a break."

"We've just _gotta_ find a way to fix the Tortuga," she replied without stopping. "The guys are in a lot of trouble. We can't go rescue them, we can't teleport the creature power suites, we can't even locate them! They've probably been trying to contact us on the main console and haven't been able to get through."

"Yeah, but worrying yourself sick and trying to come up with a solution on zero sleep won't help them…or us."

Aviva came to a standstill, about to reply when the beep of her creature pod cut her off. She picked it up, eyes widening.

"It's them!" She touched the device and a projection flickered into existence. "Guys! Are you ok?"

"More or less," Chris answered. "We had a little accident right after the last time we contacted you. Kinda knocked ourselves out for a while."

Koki and Aviva looked at each other in surprise.

"Wow. That was forever ago!" said Aviva.

Martin rubbed his forehead. "We know. Still hurts, though. Listen, we're in some serious trouble. Gourmand has landed his plane in the middle of a big North American city."

"North America?!" both girls blurted at once.

"Yeah," said Chris. "And that's not the half of it. We're right in front of Zach Varmitech's skyscraper. We think it might be where the convention's being held."

"This is terrible!" said Aviva.

"Exactly," replied Martin. "So, uh…we'd really appreciate some backup, if you don't mind. What're the chances of you guys lifting off in, say, the next hour or two? By the way, why is it so dark in there?"

Aviva threw a quick glance in Koki's direction, but she was already busy digging her knuckles into her forehead and groaning in frustration.

"Um…the chances aren't that good. Like, at all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris asked.

"Long story short, Jimmy's pizza started a fire which knocked out all the power," Koki muttered grumpily.

"Huh?" both brothers asked, looking confused.

"It's true," Aviva added, shaking her head. "Thanks to Jimmy's favorite food, all the main power is down and so are we."

"Lemme get this straight," said Chris, scratching his head, "a piece of _pizza_ took out the whole Tortuga?!"

"That's right."

"Is that why he's holding a celery stalk?" Martin asked, but at that moment, his attention was grabbed by something else going on behind them. "Yikes! Gotta go!"

The hovering projection cut out abruptly, leaving Koki and Aviva hanging in the dark.


	5. Be the Villain

**Chapter 5**

**Be the Villain**

"Eww!" Zach turned up his pointy nose at the sight of the animals in the open back of Gourmand's plane. "What do I do with all these varmints? They're noisy! And they smell funny!"

Gourmand waved him off. "Aw, pipe down, chimneysweep. Once we get all these deee_licious _delicacies into yer building, you won't have to see'em again 'til they turn up on yer plate."

Zach sighed, rolling his eyes, then snapped his fingers impatiently. "Zachbots! Move all these 'delicacies' into my storage room in the basement!"

*_Bleep-bleep!_* The robot at the front of a line of about five others blinked in response, then lead the troop into the plane.

About half an hour later, all the animals had been transported to and stashed in the room under Zach's giant building without incident. All except for one particularly large crate, which had taken three Zachbots to lift after one nearly short-circuited itself trying to do it alone. Nevertheless, the task was finished, the door was closed, and the room and everything in it were left alone—forgotten, for the time being.

After a few moments filled with nothing but the sounds of the disturbed creatures, a loud thud came from the inside of the crate. That thud was followed by another, which was accompanied by a muffled "Ow!". There was a pause…

Suddenly, the lid of the crate popped up and landed sideways on the opening with a clatter. Several seconds later, it was lifted up just enough for two pairs of eyes, one blue and one brown, to peer out from under it at the gloomy surroundings.

"All clear," Martin whispered. "We did it! We're in!"

The two brothers stood up, letting the lid of the crate slide off their heads.

"Whew!" Chris high-fived Martin. "That was close! I thought we were goners back there when Gourmand opened the back of the plane while we were talking to Aviva."

"Yeah!" Martin stepped out of the crate and took a look around. "Good thing this box was available."

"Tell me about it. It was pretty cramped, but anything was better than a repeat of the 'tarp incident'."

Martin didn't reply since he was too busy counting the animals. "Oh good. Everybody's here." He crouched down beside Blur's cage and poked a finger through to let her nuzzle it. "All we have to do now is make sure Gourmand doesn't serve any of you for dinner tonight. Don't worry, Spot-Swat," he lowered his hand and the cub gave it a little lick, "none of you are gonna show up on the menu on our watch."

"Right," Chris agreed, placing a hand on his chin to think, "but we need a plan."

Martin snapped his fingers, looking as if a light bulb had just flicked on inside his head. "Got it!"

"Huh?"

"I've got a plan!" He stood up and walked across the room. Hanging on a nail on the wall was a white chef's hat and jacket, probably left there by some former head cook. Without giving Chris a moment to wonder, he took them down and threw them in his direction. "Here! Put these on."

"What?"

Martin didn't respond as he started fishing around in his pockets for something, sticking his tongue between his teeth in concentration.

Chris sighed as he put on the jacket and placed the hat on his head, but didn't say anything.

"Relax, bro!" Martin replied brightly, sensing his brother's rising apprehension. "This'll be great! Ah-ha!" He pulled his hand out of his pocket, holding something up triumphantly. It was a pair of thick, black glasses. "Here." He shoved them at Chris. "You should wear these."

Chris slowly reached forward and took the spectacles, slipping them onto his face. Immediately, he felt dizzy as the room swam out of focus. He had to throw his arms out to keep his balance.

"Martin, how am I supposed to see anything?"

He shrugged, sticking his hand back into his pocket. "I dunno. Hmm…" he muttered, "gotta be in here somewhere—yes!" He pulled out yet another object, this time sticking it on his own face just under his nose. "Voila! Whaddaya think?" He folded his arms and puffed out his chest, putting on an air of ridiculous satisfaction at his own resourcefulness.

Chris pushed the glasses up to his forehead and stared. "A fake moustache?"

"Yup," Martin said, reaching up to tweak the ends of the enormous, black piece of false facial hair on his upper lip. "Jimmy let me borrow it a couple days ago."

Chris was torn between busting a gut and wanting to smack himself in the forehead. He didn't even bother to ask where the glasses had come from. "Ok, I give up. What's with the disguises?"

Martin stepped over and put an arm around Chris's shoulder, gazing dramatically off into the distance with one hand extended into the air. "Look at it this way, bro. We're dealing with an entirely different species on this adventure: the villain! We're stranded alone on their turf with only our wits and basic instincts. It's our job to study their behavior, adapt to their habitat and ways of life, and _survive_! It's time to _be the villain_! This is a scientific opportunity not many people have the chance to experience! And then we stop the villains in their tracks and save the animals."

"We're biologists, Martin, not sociologists. Besides, why would anyone _want _to experience this if they didn't have to? And why do I already not like the sound of this plan?"

Martin let go of his shoulder. "Don't worry! I've got everything under control."

Chris rubbed his chin. "Lemme get this straight, dude. You're saying we're going to blend in with the villains in order to rescue the animals?"

"Exactly! You'll go hang around with Gourmand to make sure these guys," he motioned toward all the waiting animals, "stay out of the oven and I'll go to the convention to keep track of everybody else."

"Great," Chris said unenthusiastically, adjusting his chef's hat, "then you're gonna need more than just that moustache to fool an entire convention full of the planet's most evil human beings."

"Right, right," Martin agreed, taking off his jacket and flipping it inside-out to the black fleece on the interior. "How's this?"

Chris didn't reply for a scrutinizing moment. "You should probably just be extra careful up there," he answered finally.


	6. Chris Kratt: Assistant Chef

**Chapter 6**

**Chris Kratt: Assistant Chef Extraordinaire**

Chris shifted uncomfortably in the kitchen doorway as Gourmand eyed him up and down.

"Huh. Don't remember askin' fer an 'assistant chef'…"

Chris swallowed, hoping against hope this would work.

Gourmand shrugged. "Guess it couldn't hurt anything. You just do exactly what I say. Comprende?"

"Got it." Chris nodded and followed the chef into the huge, stainless steel kitchen, but stopped short as he turned back around suddenly.

"You sure I don't know you from somewhere?"

"Absolutely," Chris answered immediately, resisting the urge to adjust the glasses.

"Hmm." Gourmand hesitated for a moment. "Alrighty, then. Tonight's dinner's gonna be an African Savannah Buffet Bar." He made his way around one of the long counters and shoved a cage out from behind it.

Chris had to stop himself from audibly gasping as the tiny occupants yipped and cried. He could barely see at all, but he'd know those sounds anywhere. African wild dog pups! At least five of them! Gourmand must have stolen them right from under their noses that day he'd shown up on the savannah. He didn't remember seeing them on the plane—probably because he'd spent most of the trip unconscious—since they might have been tucked away in some dark corner.

"We'll start with these little critters. They'll make fer some tasty 'wild dog dumplings' with 'pup tarts' on the side."

Chris's stomach lurched.

"What's the matter, Rookie?" Gourmand grabbed him by a handful of the front of his jacket and yanked him toward the cage. "Get on over here and start cookin'! I got some o' my famous pastry dough t'roll out."

With that, the chef brushed past and headed all the way across the kitchen. Good. That meant Chris would have a better chance of spiriting the dogs back to the basement without him noticing anything. He crouched down next to the cage and carefully shoved it behind the counter again, prompting a chorus of excited yips from the pups.

"Shh!" Chris whispered, putting a finger to his lips. "Do you guys wanna end up on somebody's plate?" The five little dogs each sat back on their haunches and cocked their heads quizzically. "Didn't think so."

He straightened, thinking fast. He was going to have to fool Gourmand into thinking he was busy turning the wild dogs into dumplings for the buffet, but how? At that moment, a small breeze blew through the room from right behind him. Chris turned to see that the back door of the kitchen was slightly ajar. Lifting up the glasses to clear his vision, he caught sight of his answer. There in the narrow ally outside the kitchen was a massive dumpster, filled to overflowing with trash.

"Hmm," Chris glanced over his should to make sure Gourmand was still focused on his pastry dough, then back at the five wild dog pups. "Maybe there's something in there I can use as a substitute for you guys."

This was going to be tricky. Gourmand would know in an instant something was up with Chris's cooking, especially if it would be full of garbage instead of endangered animals. If this was going to work, he was going to have to mess with the chef's incredibly sensitive nose.

First things first, though. Chris needed to look like he was busy, so he filled a huge pot full of water, heaved it on top of the stove and fired it up. Next, he snatched a few random vegetables, chopped them up and threw them in the pot. After that, he slipped outside to the dumpster, digging quickly for some objects about the same weight and size as a wild dog puppy. It didn't take long to find what he needed and he was back inside before Gourmand even knew he'd been missing.

Seconds later, Chris stood over the boiling pot, holding a smelly old shoe.

"Wow!" he said loudly. "This little guy's really plump and juicy!" He dropped it with a splash and held up the next object, ready to send it to a watery grave as well. The ritual was repeated three more times until each "wild dog" was in the stew.

Perfect. That should throw Gourmand off for a bit while he searched the cupboards for his next item of business. He threw open door after door until he finally found exactly what he needed in a bottom shelf: ground chili pepper, curry, hot sauce...every kind of super nose-scorching spice he could possibly want in huge quantities. This cupboard was the jackpot—

"Hey! Rookie!"

The sound of Gourmand's gravelly southern drawl cutting across the near-silent room made Chris jump and bang his head on the inside of the cupboard.

"What's goin' on over there? I don't smell no doggie dumplings yet."

Chris poked his head over the open cupboard door to see Gourmand—thankfully still on the other side of the kitchen—pointing a rolling pin at him accusingly.

"Working on it!" he yelped, making sure to adjust his hat and glasses.

"Hmph. You sure are a slow one. I'd have three courses knocked out by now." He went back to his pastry dough, mumbling to himself.

"And that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid," Chris muttered darkly, ducking back down into the cupboard for an armful of his newfound secret weapons. Once he surfaced again and deposited his load on the countertop, he pulled out a bowl and started dumping entire bottles of hot sauce and exotic spices into it. Several minutes later, with streaming eyes and burning lungs, Chris hid the evidence and took one last look at his debilitating concoction. He'd pulled a ruse like this on Gourmand before with complete success, so he hoped this time around would be even better—and last longer.

With one foot, he carefully slid the cage-full of wild dog pups to a safe, out of the way spot. It was now or never.

"Uh…Chef Gourmand, sir?" he called innocently, crossing his fingers behind his back and trying not to hack up a lung from the odor coming from the sludge in the bowl. "I think my sauce is missing something. Could you come use that _legendary_ sense of smell I've heard so much about and tell me what's wrong with it?"


	7. Martin the Villain

**Chapter 7**

**Martin the Villain**

Martin's legs were starting to cramp up from crouching behind the prickly bushes at the entrance of Zach's building. He'd been in this position for about half an hour, scoping things out as the villains began to arrive in droves. One half of his brain told him to jump out and join right in, but the other half was fairly nervous. So far, that half was winning the battle, which was a little unusual considering his history.

Martin had never done anything like this before. Sure, throw him in with a pride of hungry lions and he wouldn't be worried in the least. But this gig was different. These creatures were human just like him, but a separate breed entirely. Judging by what he'd been able to observe while hidden in the bushes, these people were crazy, eccentric, and some looked a bit maniacal, maybe even deranged. How was he ever going to fit in around here?

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes. "Ok," he said to himself, "I can do this, I can do this…"

Opening his eyes again, he noticed a general surge in the amount of villains flowing into the building. Now was his chance. He leaned forward, pushing the scratchy bushes apart, about to slip into the crowd—

"Come _on_, Dabio! I haven't got all day."

"Yeep!" Martin let out a yelp of surprise before he could stop himself, then scrambled back into the bush as the slim fashionista stopped right in front of him. A pair of legs underneath a huge pile of pink, leopard-patterned luggage staggered up behind her. He could only guess that was Dabio.

Donita tapped her foot impatiently. "Be careful with that luggage. It's imported, you know. I don't want any of it dropped or damaged. Not a scratch or a scuff, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Donita," came the muffled reply.

"Good. Now let's go check in. I want a table near the front, so chop-chop!"

"Yes, Donita."

She turned and headed for the door, leaving poor Dabio to figure out how to get into the building on his own. Martin watched the hulking sidekick struggle for at least ten minutes before the load was taken on by a waiting Zachbot.

Fortunately, that was all the time the go-get'em half of Martin's brain needed to reboot. Within seconds after a panting Dabio finally made it through the door, Martin was out of the bush and had successfully blended in with the next group of incoming villains.

Once inside, Martin had to force himself not to stop and stare at the entrance foyer. It was one huge montage of gaudy, ultra-modern, shiny black and silver metal. To top it all off, much of the available wall space was occupied with pictures of Mr. Varmitech himself. Martin wrinkled his nose in disgust. _How many portraits of himself does a guy need?_ he thought, trying his best not to gag.

His contemplations were interrupted as a Zachbot zoomed up to him, making him jump slightly. He didn't like these guys at all and usually ended up destroying them whenever they happened to cross paths, but not today. This time, he had to play it cool and inconspicuous.

_Villain_, he thought. _Be the villain…be the villain_…

"What do _you_ want?" he asked in what he hoped was a commanding tone.

The Zachbot blinked its red eyes a couple times and held out a card.

"Oh." Martin hesitated before taking it. Table five, it read. He looked back up at the robot, who seemed to be waiting for something. "What, you want a tip?" How exactly would one tip a robot?

It bleeped expectantly, taking Martin by surprise. Then he remembered he was supposed to be selfish and mean, just like everyone else around the place. He folded his arms.

"Forget it, you hunk of junk! Now scram!"

The Zachbot lurched backwards and hurtled off so suddenly that he almost felt sorry for the thing. Man, these villains were a tough species to get a handle on.

Ten minutes later, after following everyone else through a maze of twisting, dark hallways, Martin found himself standing in a huge, dimly lit and metallic ballroom. The place was scattered with tables and a temporary stage complete with a podium occupied the front. So _this_ was where all the action was going to take place, huh?

Martin couldn't stand and stare for very long without starting to look suspicious, so he quickly weaved his way around groups of chatting villains to his own seat at table number five. The only other occupants were a pair of large, muscular men in matching grey coveralls. They didn't exactly look like anybody he wanted to cross, so he made sure to sit on the complete opposite side of the circular table. Fortunately for him, the two bruisers were deep in conversation about some dastardly deed or another and didn't look in his direction.

"Ugh, I would just _love_ to redecorate this place."

The all-too-familiar voice yanked Martin out of his thoughts. If Donita and Dabio were headed for his table he was going to have a lot more to worry about than Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.

_Please no, please don't sit here, pleeeease don't—_

"Ah! Table five," said Donita as Dabio pulled out a chair for her to sit down. "I hope Gourmand has something fabulous planned for dinner tonight. I'm famished."

The two muscular men looked up. "Well," said the one on the right, "hello, Miss Donata. Longtime no see, huh?"

Dabio waved happily, but Donita just sighed in annoyance and slapped his hand down. "Hello, Ned. Hello, Fred. And how, may I ask, has the re-po business been treating you lately?"

"Oh, it's great," said the one on the left. At that moment, another Zachbot flew in from nowhere and placed a pile of those hi-my-name-is tags in the middle of the table along with a couple Sharpie markers, a pitcher of water, and several glasses.

The other four villains reached for the name tags. It was then that Martin realized with a jolt that he had no idea what he was going to call himself while undercover.

"I don't remember you from last year," Donita said, narrowing her eyes at him. "But you look awfully familiar." Her gaze traveled up his face from the moustache to his contrasting blonde hair. "Hmm…"

"Uh…" Before Martin could get anything else out, one of the guys in coveralls shoved a name tag and marker in his direction.

"What's your name, newbie?"

Martin gulped, feeling cornered as he picked up the Sharpie. "Um…well, I'm…"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten your own name." The fashionista seemed amused.

"Oo!" Dabio raised his hand, looking excited. "I know _my_ name! I'm Dabio!"

Now _that_ was just insulting. Martin uncapped the marker. "Of course I know my name! It's Mar…tonio." He mentally kicked himself for almost spilling the beans, but that was that. No turning back now. He scribbled it on the tag, peeled it off, and stuck it on his chest. "Yeah, that's right. I'm Martonio!"

Donita's smile faded and was replaced with a look of deep suspicion. "Tell me, _Martonio_, do you dye your hair? That moustache clashes horrifically—"

"No! My hair's naturally this way. All of it."

Everyone at the table seemed unconvinced.

"Look," Martin reached for the pitcher and poured himself a glass, "if it bothers you so much, don't look at it."

"Hmph." Donita folded her arms, but kept a wary eye on him.

Dabio leaned over, giving him a thumbs up. "Hey, I like it. Totally new-wave."

Martin didn't reply, since he was busy nervously gulping down his entire glass of water. There was an awkward pause for a few moments, then coverall-guy number two leaned toward him.

"So what's your line of work?"

Martin nearly choked on the last mouthful of his drink. "What?" he spluttered after wiping his mouth on a sleeve.

"You deaf?" asked number one. "He asked what you do for a living."

What _did_ other villains besides Zach, Donita and Gourmand do? Since he'd only ever encountered those three, he was going to have to ad-lib. "Well, I…that is, um…I steal things."

The two bruisers looked at each other, obviously trying to keep back a laugh.

"Aw, c'mon, newbie. Any villain can steal things."

"Right, well, I steal things from…orphans." What a horrible person this Martonio alter-ego was turning out to be.

They exchanged another glance, this time seeming to be mildly impressed.

"Wow, that _is_ pretty evil."

"So…what do you two do?" Martin wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"What, me and Ned?" asked Fred. "Yeah, we repossess items that don't need to be repossessed, right dude?"

Ned nodded. "Yup! That's us!"

Martin nearly slammed his face into the table at that one. This was going to be one long, weird, and awkward convention. He could only hope Chris was faring better than he was at the moment.


	8. Villain Business

**Chapter 8**

**Villain Business**

The sound of a microphone being tapped once or twice finally saved Martin from having to answer any more questions. All eyes turned to the stage at the front of the room where Zach was standing at the podium.

"Ah-hem," he cleared his throat purposefully, causing the general hum of conversation in the room to quiet down. "Ladies and gentlemen, villains and villainesses, sidekicks and henchmen, welcome back to the biggest annual International Villain Convention in the world!"

The room exploded into deafening applause. Zach held up a hand.

"Yes, yes, and now, as you can see, I'll be your host this week because this is _my_ building which doubles as _my _convention center." Zach grinned.

Total silence. Nobody applauded that one.

"Alright, then," he continued, looking somewhat put out. "Just a few items of business before I go over the schedule and we can move on to the delicious African Savannah Buffet our very own Chef Gourmand is busy preparing right at this moment."

"Woo hoo!" somebody out in the crowd shouted.

Zach glared in his general direction. "Ok, first things first: absolutely no plotting world domination after nine PM."

An audible groan resounded through the room.

"Hey! Some of us have brilliant minds that need a proper amount of sleep in order to function!"

"Here here!" shouted a group of pale, lab coat-clad mad-scientists at one table.

"You're welcome. Next, no unscheduled visits from archenemies this year. We don't want a repeat of last year's little incident in San Diego. I _especially_ don't want a mess like that going on in _my_ building, understand?"

The group seemed to agree on this one.

"Third, absolutely no explosions in the chemistry lab downstairs. I just had all the carpet on that level cleaned." Just then, a Zachbot floated up to Zach and handed him a note and a small object. "Ok, is there a 'Captain Nefarious' here?"

"Right here," a tall guy dressed as a ninja stood up.

"Well, you left your 'Destruct-O-Mobile's' lights on in the parking terrace."

Captain Nefarious turned and rushed out as Zach held up the tiny device. "And somebody dropped this mini heat-seeking missile launcher in the foyer. Anybody want to claim it before it goes into the Lost and Found?"

"Oh, zat vould be mine!" A tiny man with a heavy accent, frizzy hair and thick glasses detached himself from the mad-scientist table and raced to the stage to claim it.

"Great," said Zach, rubbing his hands together. "And now for the good stuff." He clapped twice and a schedule appeared on the giant screen behind him which prompted a few oo's and ah's from the crowd. "Trust me, we've got a fantastic lineup of events this week starting with tomorrow's 'How to Get the Most out of Your Secret Lair' seminar given by Dr. I. M. N. Sane. That will be followed by the traditional Ice Cream Sundae and Karaoke Bash. On Wednesday, we'll have a fabulous demonstration, 'Dry Cleaning Care for Various Disguises', accompanied by another meal provided by Gourmand. Thursday kicks off with the Every-Villain-For-Himself dodge ball game in my shiny new private gym. Friday, we'll have the ever-popular 'Finding Your Inner Villain' seminar, after which will be the awards ceremony for naming the next 'Villain of the Year', and the closing Evil Deed Disco."

This was crazy! Martin was half interested, half horrified at the goings on, so he hadn't realized he'd been sitting this whole time with his jaw dangling wide open. Only after getting a strange look from Donita did he close it and pretend to be just as unfazed by everything as she was.

Then, as Zach started talking again, Martin looked to the left just in time to see the double-doors leading to the kitchen fly open. Out came an army of Zachbots pushing long tables piled with steaming platters of food followed by Gourmand himself and…Chris.

Martin's stomach flipped at the sight of the buffet tables. What if Chris hadn't been able to keep all the animals safe after all? His brain flooded with more panicked questions as he locked eyes with his brother's—who'd lifted up the glasses a little to find him—and jerked his head in the direction of the buffet bar. Chris merely shook his head and gave him the thumbs up. He relaxed a little. Whatever that food was, it wasn't made out of endangered animals. Everything was under control for the time being.

Just then, Gourmand sneezed horrendously. Chris pointed to his own nose, then made a slashing motion across his throat, grinning. That must mean he'd somehow managed to thwart the chef's strong sense of smell. Good. He hadn't done too bad after all.

"…and with that," Zach was wrapping things up, "it's time for dinner!"

The throng of villains erupted into a chorus of cheers and started standing up and moving en-masse toward the tables. Martin, however, didn't budge.

"Well," asked Ned, "you coming, newbie? That Gourmand can really whip up a fantastic meal."

"Uh…y'know what? I'm good. I think I'll stay here and enjoy the, uh…view."

The other villains at his table each threw him a confused look (except Dabio who was already halfway across the room) and moved off. Martin breathed a sigh of relief. For a few precious minutes, he didn't have to act like a complete jerk. He looked up, anxious to make eye contact with his brother again, but he'd disappeared.

About fifteen minutes later, his four table companions were back with their plates. Martin threw the food a wary glance and was surprised to see that it didn't look all that appetizing. In fact, it didn't even look edible.

"Hmm," Donita poked at the main course with her spoon, "this smells strange."

"Well, you know how Gourmand never makes the same thing twice," said Fred.

"Yeah, yeah," added Ned, "it's probably some new Avant-garde creation of his."

"I know Gourmand," protested Donita, "and if there's one thing he _isn't, _it's Avant-garde." She lifted a spoonful of the lumpy green sludge to her lips and tasted it cautiously. As soon as it touched the tip of her tongue, she dropped the spoon and spat forcefully. "UGH! This is _awful_! What _is_ this stuff?! It tastes like rubbish!"

Martin blinked. Whatever Chris had done to sabotage the meal, it was a doozy. He hid a small smile behind a hand, waiting for more. He didn't have to wait long since the tables around them began to murmur in agreement with Donita's sentiments, and soon the murmurs escalated into shouts of shock and disgust.

Zach, who was still perched above them all behind his podium on the stage, started to look a little nervous. And he had every reason to be, especially when bits of the "food" began flying through the air toward him.

"AAGH!" he squealed as a whole plateful of the stuff sailed right over his head and splattered against the screen. "Hey! Stop that! That thing was _expensive_!"

"This banquet is AWFUL!" somebody screamed.

Zach straightened and cast a venomous look in the direction of the kitchen, then slunk off for the double doors. Martin tensed. This couldn't be good.

xxxx

Zach burst into the kitchen.

"Gourmand!" he shrieked, pointing accusingly at the chef standing five feet in front of him.

It usually took a lot to startle the guy, but this sudden intrusion on his turf made him jerk around suddenly.

"What, Zach?!"

"Your food! It's ruining my convention and my convention _center_!"

"Huh?"

"According to popular vote, that stuff tastes like the inside of a dispose-all! What's going on in here?"

The chef stared blankly at the skinny inventor for a few seconds, then his face reddened as something dawned on him. Seizing a huge knife from the block on the counter next to him, he whipped around. There behind him, all the way across the room by the opposite wall, was his supposedly dim-witted assistant chef.

"You!" he threw the knife with an expert flick of his wrist. It whistled through the air and embedded itself in the wall mere centimeters from the stunned doppelganger's head.


	9. Busted

**Chapter 9**

**Busted**

Chris froze flat against the wall as the knife quivered next to his ear. He hadn't exactly planned on almost being impaled by a flying machete during this escapade, so he stood paralyzed as the hefty chef thundered toward him.

"You sabotaged my banquet, ya little squirt! I shoulda known that bowl o' lava was a trap!" Gourmand snatched a handful of various deadly utensils just before coming to a stop and grabbing Chris by the front of his jacket.

Brain finally snapping out of its initial state of shock, Chris reacted by sinking his teeth into Gourmand's beefy fist.

"EEEYOOOWW!" shrieked the cook as he dropped him to the floor.

Not wasting a second, Chris scrambled between his legs on hands and knees and made his break in the direction of the ballroom. Slipping on the smooth tiled floor, he sprinted as fast as he could, shoving Zach out of the way.

xxxx

Martin glanced nervously at the kitchen double doors for about the fifth time since Zach had disappeared through them seconds ago. Chris was in big trouble, but unless he wanted to blow this whole operation, he couldn't do anything at the moment. Suddenly, a screaming blur of white exploded through the doors at top speed followed by a barrage of flying cooking utensils and a charging Chef Gourmand.

"Get back here, ya fake! You'll be sorry you ever set one scrawny foot in my kitchen, ya hear?"

Zach popped out of the swinging doors next. "Uh, it's _my_ kitchen, actually."

All at once, just as the white blur vaulted on top of the stage in a last-ditch effort to evade capture, the enraged chef put on a burst of speed and caught him by the scruff of the neck. Martin could only watch in horror as his brother let out a strangled yelp and was yanked off his feet.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Gourmand shouted triumphantly as Chris wriggled. "And now it's time to reveal yer true identity, sneak." The room went deathly still as he reached for the glasses and flicked them off his victim's face.

"A Wild Rat!" Zach pointed, looking disgusted. "How'd he get in here?!"

A nasty look crossed Gourmand's face as he pulled Chris into a tight headlock. "This ain't nothin' I can't handle right here and now. Stop squirmin', Green Grape. You done messed with the wrong sniffer t'day." A bead of sweat trickled down the younger Kratt's face.

Martin couldn't stand to watch any longer, not with Chris about to be pulverized. He jumped up, knocking over his chair with a clatter. "HEY! LET GO OF MY BROTHER!" His shout echoed through the cavernous room, then faded out to another bout of dead silence.

Donita was the first one to break it. Her chair legs scraped against the floor as she too sprang to her feet. "I _knew_ there was something wrong with you!" Before Martin could do anything, she reached over and ripped the fake moustache from his face.

"OW!" Martin clapped a hand over his stinging lip. "That's not even mine! It's on loan!"

Dabio took the moustache out of Donita's fingers and tried it on, pulling out a mirror and running a hand through is hair. "Oo! Nice!"

"Well, well." Donita sneered as the whole room watched. "If it isn't Martino, or should I say _Martonio_?"

"Eh-heh…" Martin said nervously as a Zachbot gripped him by the shoulders.

"Hey, Varmitech!" somebody shouted, bringing the crowd of villains back into the picture. "I thought you said no unscheduled visits from archenemies this year!"

"I know what I—" Zach started.

"Yeah! And I'm starving!" said somebody else and the mob broke out in a chorus of agreement.

Grumbling, Zach hopped back to his podium, waving his arms. "Ok, everybody calm down." The din continued to rise. "I said cut it out! QUIIIIIIET!"

The room dropped back into uneasy silence.

"That's better. Alright, where's that Nefarious ninja guy?!" He shielded his eyes with a hand and scanned through the multitude until he found who he was looking for. "Yeah, you! Go order thirty large pizzas and ten of those eight-foot sub sandwich thingies they always have at parties. And make it snappy!" He lowered his eyes until they met Martin's. "We have a couple problems to take care of."

Martin gulped. This was it. It was all over.

xxxx

"Stop glaring at us like that, Wild Rats," said Zach as Gourmand finished the knot on the ropes holding the brothers together in two chairs back-to-back. The three villains had dragged them down to the basement with all the animals in cages for safe-keeping. "Just because we won this time doesn't mean it's the end of the world." He paused, pretending to think as a wicked grin spread across his face. "Oh, wait! Yes it does! Ha-ha-ha! Oh, and I haven't noticed your annoying friends flying around in that turtle ship thingy. Tell me, brat brothers, were you planning on getting in this far over those brainless heads of yours without backup?"

"They'll get here," Chris spat angrily. "Just you wait."

Zach rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, 'and when they do, you'll be sorry'. I've heard that line a bazillion times. Whatever. Point is you nearly ruined my whole convention. It's a good thing we caught you before you could do any serious damage. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

Now it was Donita's turn to gloat. "Face it, Kratts. You wouldn't be in this fix if you would stay out of our business."

"No," said Martin, "we wouldn't be in this fix if you people would leave innocent creatures out of your evil plans!"

"Right!" Chris chimed in. "All they're trying to do is go on living free and in the wild and you guys have to come along and—"

Gourmand placed the end of a long silver spoon under Chris's chin and used it to snap his jaw shut.

"Aw, simmer down, Green Grape. Just be glad y'didn't have one o' those miniaturizers on ya t'day. You two woulda made a fantastic itty-bitty bite-sized addition to a veggie platter." He took the spoon away from Chris's chin, but neither he nor Martin had anything to say to that.

The three villains laughed hysterically and made for the basement entrance. Zach was the last to leave, but before he did, he turned.

"Sit tight, Wild Rats! We'll be back to deal with you later. Ah-ha-ha!" He slammed the door.

"That's 'Wild _Kratts_'!" both Chris and Martin shouted after him. Then there was a long and awkward pause where only the sounds of the cooped up animals could be heard as they eyed their new fellow prisoners.

"Ok," Martin finally sighed, "so maybe that wasn't the best idea I've ever had…"


	10. The Tortuga Rides Again

**Chapter 10**

**The Tortuga Rides Again**

"Ok, Aviva!" Koki called across the room from the entrance. "I got the last of the replacement solar panels installed."

The burnt-out pizza mess had been cleaned up, but there was still a bug in the works. Some connection wasn't linking up properly or some infinitesimal set of wires was crossed deep inside the ship's intricate circuitry. The crew had nearly gutted the entire place looking for it and still hadn't found anything.

Aviva looked up from the mess of wires spilling out onto the floor from a gaping hole in one of the walls. "That's great, Koki," she sighed unenthusiastically. "Let's try the main power again."

They both knew it probably wouldn't work, just like the sixty-something times they'd tried before, but what could one more go hurt? Koki positioned herself at the electrical panel in the wall as Aviva resumed her usual spot by the giant computer consol.

"Alright," Koki sighed. "Here goes nothing." She started throwing switches and pushing buttons.

"Power restart commencing in ten…nine…eight…" Aviva prepared to fire up the Tortuga even though she still harbored major doubts this would actually work.

Just then, Jimmy came into the room, fresh off a snack break and feeling ready for anything—that is until he tripped over the wires stretched out across the floor.

"Whoa! How'd all this get out here?" He sat up to take a look. Sifting through the wires to untangle himself, he happened across a couple large cables with plugs on the end that didn't seem to be connected to anything else. He picked them up. "Well, this can't be good. Uh, girls?"

"…five…four…three…" Aviva continued, not paying attention to anything behind her. Koki was also absorbed with priming the charge.

"Wait!" Jimmy stood up, still holding on to the cables, "I don't think these things should…uh-oh."

"…two…one…GO!"

Before he could drop the cables, Koki threw the last switch and pulled down a red lever. A sizzling, electric buzz could be heard as a surge of power pulsed through the ship—and right through Jimmy.

"AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEAAAA!" he shrieked.

Aviva and Koki whipped around to see Jimmy enveloped in what looked like a massive bolt of blinding blue lightning. The lights, computers, and other equipment hummed at the same time signaling that the ship had come back to life. But that didn't exactly matter at the moment.

"Shut it off!" Aviva screamed frantically. "Shut it off NOW!"

Koki spun back to the panel, yanking the red lever up to its former position. The hum died down, causing the room to fade into the familiar darkness.

"Jimmy!" Koki cried as she and Aviva rushed to his side.

"Are you ok?!" Aviva waved a hand in front of his wide eyes. "C'mon, JZ, say something!"

The pilot continued to stare straight ahead for a moment, jaws clenched together in a surprised, electrified grimace, red hair sticking straight out in every direction, reminiscent of Koki's Afro. Tiny puffs of smoke curled up from this new hairdo and his hat was nowhere to be seen. He opened his mouth and coughed once or twice.

"I…I th-think I f-f-found the b-bug."

The girls exchanged relieved glances, then each threw their arms around him.

"Jimmy, you did it!" Aviva exclaimed, taking the cables out of his hands. "You found the problem!"

"You're w-welcome."

"How did we miss this?!" Koki asked, eyeing the cables as Aviva hooked them together. "These things are huge!"

"They must've been buried under all this wiring the whole time. We just didn't think to look for a problem this big!"

"Alright, Jimster!" Koki slapped him on the back. "We'll start the sequence again. Think you can fly after all that?"

Jimmy nodded, eyes still as wide as tennis balls. "Yeah, yeah. That was a bigger jolt than I've ever gotten from one of those energy drinks." He turned his huge eyes to the cables—which were being stuffed back into the wall by Aviva—and grinned. "I could fly for five days straight like this!"

"That's great Jimmy," said Aviva. "You're going to need a lot of energy to get there and save Chris and Martin before they get into any more trouble. Just don't make it a habit." She closed the hole in the wall with a snap.

"Yeah," Koki agreed. "I'd stick to those energy drinks if I were you. All things considered, I think caffeine is a little less hazardous than thousands of volts of electricity. Nice hair, by the way." Smiling, she ruffled the poofy orange frizz on top of Jimmy's head. "I approve."

Jimmy turned, rushing for the cockpit. "Ladies, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the fastest flight from Africa to North America you've ever experienced! This trip's gonna blow your minds!"

"Eesh," said Koki, smacking her forehead.

"I think someone's mind is a little blown already," Aviva agreed.


	11. You Are Here'

**Chapter 11**

"**You Are Here"**

Aviva opened her eyes slowly. Her head was resting on her arms which were crossed on top of the main console's keyboard. She had no idea how long she'd been out and only remembered being totally exhausted before collapsing in this same position maybe a full day before. She lifted her head, brushing her hair out of her face and taking notice of the quiet surrounding her.

The Tortuga wasn't moving—something must be wrong. She jumped up, ready to whip around and diagnose the problem right away.

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Koki waved brightly as she entered the room.

Confused, Aviva just stood there, blinking. "What's going on?"

"We've landed. Jimmy was right. That _was_ the fastest transcontinental flight ever."

"Have you heard anything from the Kratt brothers?"

Koki shook her head. "I've been trying to contact them ever since we were within range of the city. Haven't heard anything so that must mean they're in trouble."

Aviva couldn't help rolling her eyes and smiling a little. "Typical," she muttered under her breath.

"C'mon!" Koki spun on a heel and headed for the cockpit. Still a bit numb from sleep, Aviva followed.

Inside the head of the ship, they found Jimmy looking super excited, but pale and a little crazed. His hands were still gripped tightly around the Tortuga's controllers.

"That…was…_awesome_!" he said as they came up beside him. "Can we do it again?"

The two girls exchanged a glance.

"We should probably get him out of here," Aviva said, reaching down to pry the pilot's fists away from the controls.

"Good idea." Koki joined her.

It took some effort, but a few minutes later, they had Jimmy out of the cockpit and down the ramp. He had landed the Tortuga in what appeared to be a large, open park in the middle of the city.

"I set'er down here so Zach wouldn't pick us up on his surveillance systems." A little of the color began returning to his face, but his singed hair was still sticking out everywhere.

"Nice choice, Jimmy," Aviva said.

"Perfect!" agreed Koki. "And convenient. Look! I can see Zach's building about a block away!"

"Alright!" Aviva high-fived the pilot, then a determined look crossed her face. Jimmy and Koki could practically see the gears starting to turn inside that incredible head of hers. "And now it's time to save some brothers using tech crew powers!"

xxxx

Evening was beginning to fall over the city as three dark shadows, dressed in black from head to toe, crept silently along the side of Zach's building.

"Aviva," Jimmy whispered nervously, "if we're trying to sneak up on Zach, do you really think going to the main entrance is the best idea?"

"Trust me," Aviva answered, grinning mischievously, "Zach will ever expect us to walk in right through the front door."

Jimmy looked at Koki, but she only shrugged.

"Ok, now here's the plan," Aviva continued. "Once we get in there, we'll need to find Zach's control room. That will be the best place for us to get an idea of the layout of the building and what we're up against as far as security goes."

"Hmm, let's see," Koki said sarcastically, "Zachbots, Zachbots, and more Zachbots. I'd say that about covers it."

"Well, we can't bet everything on that. Don't forget that Zach lives here _and _he's hosting the biggest international villain convention on the planet right at this moment. There's bound to be more than just Zachbots lurking around."

"True."

"Can we please just get this over with?" Jimmy gulped, not exactly wanting to prolong this feeling of teetering on the edge of some sort of major disaster.

Aviva simply nodded and nobody said a word as they moved quickly in the direction of the menacing glass doors and stole through them. Once inside, the group couldn't help but stop to gawk at the dimly lit gaudiness of the entrance foyer.

"Yuck!" Koki wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Zach sure is full of himself. Just how many portraits of himself could a guy possibly need?"

"Somehow," said Jimmy, walking off while staring at the ceiling, "I don't think you're the first person ever to ask that, Koki."

"And probably not the last, either. What now, Aviva?"

"I'm trying to think where the control room would be," Aviva said with a hand on her chin. "This place is ginormous!"

"Hey, guys!" Jimmy was now standing a few feet away, pointing to a tall, free-standing sign in the middle of the open floor. "Why don't we use this?"

The two girls came up beside him to take a look. The sign was a large directory of the building, probably for the guests at the convention. A big red dot with the words "You Are Here" inside it was printed overtop of the layout of the foyer. In addition, a long yellow line cut a path through a maze of hallways and rooms to a very spacious ballroom where another dot with the word "Convention" in it popped out obnoxiously.

The three of them exchanged amused looks, then glanced back at the directory. According to the map, the control room was only three floors above them.

"Well," Aviva shrugged, "I guess it can't get any clearer than this."


	12. Level Three

**Chapter 12**

**Level Three**

It took the crew a good half hour to get from the foyer up to the third floor. The place was crawling with Zachbots as expected and they'd had to take the stairs, which didn't sit too well with Jimmy.

"Uuugh…" he moaned, flopping down face-first on the landing halfway between floors two and three. "I c-c-can't…go on. Just…leave me here…to die."

Koki rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Jimmy Z! You can't give out on us now. We're almost there!"

"Besides," added Aviva, "if we leave you here, you'll get captured. Then where will we be?" She rolled him to his back with some help from Koki.

Jimmy blinked dazedly at them, then held up a hand as if reaching for them out of a thick fog. "K-K-Koki? Aviva? Is…is that you? Tell my mom I love her…"

"Oh, come _on_!" Koki said as the two of them hoisted him upright, put his arms around their shoulders and started dragging him up the final flight of stairs. "You can't die yet, especially not here and not now. We need your help."

After struggling over the last few steps, the three found themselves in a long, windowless corridor illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights. The only sings of life were the few randomly placed potted plants popping up every so often along the walls.

"This way," Aviva whispered after they made sure there were no robots nearby.

"Wait!" Koki said, setting a very wobbly Jimmy back on his feet. "How do you know which way to go?"

Aviva merely pointed above them at a sign dangling from the ceiling.

Level 3

Secret Labs 23-25, Rooms 336-338

Robot Maintenance, Room 345

Control Room, Room 376

Snack Machines, Room 324

The list went on for a while, but the tech crew was only interested in one room in particular: 376.

"Hey, great!" Jimmy said, seeming to have revived a little now that he wasn't facing any more stairs. "Let's go!"

"Keep your eyes peeled for more Zachbots."

Fortunately, it seemed like the mindless mechanical servants had decided to give them a break for a few precious minutes. The trip down the hall and around several corners was fairly easy. Soon, they turned one last corner and came to another short hallway which terminated in a dead end—a dead end with a large metal door in the middle of it. Painted on the frame in bold block lettering were the words "Control Room". Below that was what appeared to be a note scribbled on lined paper. There was also something duct-taped next to the note, but nobody could tell what it was from where they were standing.

Without a word, Aviva, Jimmy and Koki cautiously approached the door as if it might explode. And since they were intruding on Zach's turf, for all they knew, it could. Suddenly, Aviva gasped and rushed the last few steps to pull the mass of tape from the cold metal. Quickly, she unwrapped it and let the remains of two creature pods, one green and one blue, fall into her hand.

"Oh no," she whispered, glancing up at the other two with wide eyes.

Jimmy shrugged, looking grim. "Now we know why we couldn't contact them."

Koki reached for the note.

_Greetings Wild Rats Tech Team,_

_I figured you'd find your way here eventually. Unfortunately for you, I'm too busy blowing the minds of my guests with my awesome convention to meet you personally. Anyway, if you ever want to see those brainless brothers again, you'll have to get through my building's new defense system first. I'm only disappointed I can't be there to watch you fail miserably at the test run. I guess I can always enter my security camera's logs and watch it again…and again and again! Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the little gift I stuck to the door. Have fun and catch you later, Wild Rats! Ha ha ha!_

_Sincerely, the greatest, most genius inventor of all time,_

_Zach Varmitech _

Koki scrunched the paper in a fist and threw it to the floor, fuming. "Rrg! That skinny little jerk!"

"He's got the bros locked up somewhere!" Jimmy blurted. "And we're probably next! Man, this place gives me the creeps!"

"The only way we'll find out exactly what we're up against is by going through this door," said Aviva.

Koki threw up her arms. "Girl, are you crazy?! That's exactly what Varmimtech wants us to do!"

"Yeah," Jimmy chimed in. "He's probably got an army of robots in there waiting to destroy us as soon as we breathe on the handle!"

Aviva fixed her crewmates a stern gaze.

"Look, if you two want to turn around and go back to the Tortuga, that's fine by me. But _somebody_ has to rescue Chris and Martin. If we were in a sticky situation, they'd come after us, wouldn't they? We can't just leave them at the mercy of an entire convention of bad guys! I don't know how great all this is going to turn out, but we've got to at least try. And I can't do this alone. We're going to have to face whatever's behind this door as a team. Are you with me?"

Jimmy and Koki nodded.

"Alright." Aviva breathed a sigh of relief, grateful not to be the only member of the crew willing to attempt a brother rescue. And if Zach's note was any indication of what they were in for, things could get hairy. She reached for the thick handle, heart jumping into her throat. "Here goes nothing…"

She let the tips of her fingers touch the hard metal, slid the rest of her hand around it, pushed down and pulled. The door moved outward slowly as they each braced themselves for the expected robotic onslaught…

But it didn't come. The room was dark and…empty?


	13. Revenge of the Tech Crew

**Chapter 13**

**Revenge of the Tech Crew**

The three companions stood blinking at the strangely vacant control room.

"Something's not right here…" Aviva said, narrowing her eyes and crouching to the ground. She let the backpack she'd been carrying all this time slide from her shoulders and opened it.

"What's up with this place?" Jimmy asked hesitantly.

"I'm not sure, but I think I might have an idea." She pulled two objects out of the pack: a mirror and a can of aerosol hairspray.

"Hairspray?" Koki said disbelievingly. "I don't know what's going through your mind, but this is _not_ the time for a hair and makeup check!"

"You've been watching how Martin puts all that random junk into his backpack again, haven't you?" added Jimmy.

Aviva didn't reply as she held up the can and released a cloud of the sticky spray into the room. The other two watched with growing interest as the fog expanded. The room's secret slowly began to reveal itself in the form of dozens of crisscrossed, glittering red laser beams.

"Zach had this room rigged the whole time," she breathed. "One step inside and we would've been toast."

"This is kinda like the invention garage's security system on the Tortuga," said Jimmy.

"Yeah, same idea, but if someone steps into ours, it only trips the alarm. I think Zach's might do something a little more drastic."

"So the hairspray made the lasers show up," Koki mused thoughtfully, "now what's with the mirror?"

"Watch." Aviva steadied herself on her knees and leaned forward, holding the mirror carefully out in front of her. "I saw this on a TV show once and I've always wanted to try it." After a scrutinizing moment, she inched the mirror into the room to intercept one of the beams. The red light immediately bounced off the reflective surface. "I just have to redirect the beam to its source. Hopefully that will take care of everything."

Easier said than done. The beam quivered with every heartbeat and Aviva held her breath as she painstakingly guided it toward a complicated-looking device housed inside a glass box on the wall to the right. Once the incoming beam met up with its source, the device sent out a shower of sparks and smoke and the lasers died out.

"Woo hoo!" Jimmy high-fived Koki. "It worked! Nice going, Aviva!"

She wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead. "Whew!"

The three headed into the room straight for the back wall which was covered in monitors, buttons, switches and keyboards. Everything hummed to life at the touch of a button, including the bright fluorescent lights. That flood of light also revealed the yellow post-it note stuck to the main monitor.

"Not _again_," moaned Jimmy as Aviva took it.

_You used the old mirror trick, didn't you, Aviva? Well, I've got news for you. You'll never get past the rest of my system, which is a real shame since that means bye-bye brothers! Don't worry. I was planning to remodel the room they're stashed in anyway. Oh, and you know those fuzzy little lemur-thingies you Wild Rats are so crazy about? Well, they're the bomb! Ha ha!_

_Zach_

The tech crew exchanged horrified glances.

"What is he _talking _about?!" Koki asked. "Zach _hates _lemurs, not to mention any other kind of animal."

Neither Jimmy nor Aviva ever got a chance to speculate.

*_Beep!_*

They jumped as a set of giant red numbers appeared on the biggest screen in front of them.

"I didn't' do it!" Jimmy spluttered. "Uh…what is it?"

Aviva swallowed hard before answering. "It's a countdown…and I think we just set it off!"

"Oh great." Koki smacked her forehead. "And apparently we only have four minutes before it's 'bye-bye brothers'!"

Aviva snapped right into action. "Jimmy! Get out your controller and see if you can sync with Zach's system! Try to take out as many Zachbots as you possibly can!"

Jimmy saluted. "Aye-aye, captain!" Thankfully, Aviva knew he would have no problem with this task. In his mind, it was all just a game.

"Koki!" Aviva whipped around to face her, pulling out a tablet computer and several cables from the backpack and tossing them to her. "We need security camera feed, pronto! Tap in and see if you can use it to locate Chris and Martin!"

"Got it!"

As for Aviva, she had a fair amount of havoc to unleash on a certain roomful of evil villains. Glaring, she typed a set of overriding commands to hack into the system. Zach was fighting dirty, but she had a few tricks of her own up her sleeve.

"Not today, Zach," she muttered bitterly, "not today." She continued to type furiously for several seconds. With one last punch of a button, she entered the command to lock down the entire ballroom with all the villains still inside. Nobody was getting into or out of that room for the next few hours. "Think your way out of this one, genius!"

"Guys!" Koki shouted. "I found them!"

*_Beep!_*

Three minutes.

"Where?"

"In the basement. Man, they've really managed to get themselves into a jam! Oh, and by the way I think they're starting to panic."

Personally, Aviva didn't blame them one bit. She turned to the pilot. "How're we doing on Zachbots?"

"I've zapped about sixty or so. Sorry I couldn't do more than that."

Koki and Aviva looked at each other, mildly impressed. Sixty in the last thirty seconds? That was more than anyone could've hoped for.

"Alright," said Aviva, sliding her backpack around to get at it again. "Good work, team. Just one thing before we go. I think Zach deserves a little payback, don't you?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Koki asked, taking a step back.

Aviva pulled a piece of pizza and a small pair of wire cutters out and held them up. That mischievous glint was back in her eyes.

"Hey!" blurted Jimmy. "I was looking for that slice!"

"I thought you were swearing off pizza for a while?" said Koki.

"Don't worry," Aviva said, brushing past them in the direction of a huge fuse box on the wall. "Your pizza is being sacrificed for a worthy cause." She opened the metal door, carefully selected the set of wires she wanted and clipped them. Then she stuffed them back into their narrow slot along with the pizza and slammed the door just as the sparks began to fly.

"That ought to keep everybody at the convention busy for a while!" She shouted over the incredible zapping noise. "Let's go save some brothers!"


	14. Wired

**Chapter 14**

**Wired**

The tech crew raced down the stairs at breakneck speed, fueled by a generous amount of adrenaline and a serious need to beat the clock. Fortunately, Jimmy had caused major devastation among the Zachbot population and they didn't meet up with anyone or anything on the way to the ground floor.

"This way!" Koki shouted once they arrived. "To the right! There should be a doorway to the basement not too far from here!"

The three of them sprinted breathlessly down a long corridor similar to the one the control room was located in. And there it was: a black metal door with caution tape and a "blasting zone" sign stretched across it. Barely stopping to rip them away, they were through the door and down the long steps in a flash, only to nearly run into another closed door at the very bottom of the flight.

Not about to quit here now that they were so close, Jimmy, Koki, and Aviva threw it open…and stopped dead at the sight in front of them.

Tied back-to-back, each with a strip of fabric wrapped around his mouth, were none other than two familiar, very anxious-looking brothers. As if that wasn't bad enough, strapped to the legs of their chairs was a metal container with multi-colored wires sticking out of it complete with a timer on top. According to the red numbers, they were down to less than two minutes.

"I think we found them," said Jimmy matter-of-factly.

Koki smacked her forehead. "How in the _world _do two get yourselves into these messes?" She started forward, but Chris and Martin both shook their heads frantically, then jerked them in the same direction, away from the cages full of animals across the room.

"Stay back!" Aviva warned. "Don't touch anything!"

"Mrrrft!" Chris tried to yell.

"Huh?" Jimmy scratched his head.

"Whatever Zach has planned," Koki said, "he sure didn't want these two to let us in on the surprise."

"Hrf ummrf frrmm!" Martin added his two bits. Then he and Chris both jerked their heads in the same direction again.

"They're trying to tell us something!" Aviva cried.

The brothers nodded vigorously just as something fuzzy with a long tail leaped out of the dark corner they'd been indicating and landed on top Chris's head. Two more of the creatures scampered across the floor at the same time.

"Whoa! Lemurs!" Jimmy blurted.

"What's stuck to their backs?" Koki pointed to the small device attached to one of the lemurs.

All of a sudden, two and two came together inside Aviva's brain with tremendous force.

"_Lemurs are the bomb…_" she quoted Zach's post-it note to herself. "Literally! That's it! The lemurs, the countdown…it's a _bomb_!"

"WHAT?!" both Koki and Jimmy shouted.

"Zach must be using the lemurs as remote components of an explosive device in order to distract us and waste our time! Quick, spread out and catch them! I'll start working on the main unit."

Without skipping a beat, Jimmy and Koki each set out to capture one of the three flighty primates as Chris and Martin watched helplessly from the sidelines. Aviva dropped to her knees beside them and pried the lid off the container.

*_Beep!_*

They had one minute before everything blew sky high.

"This is nuts!" Koki said as she tried cornering a lemur without success.

"Hey, I have one!" Jimmy gently removed the device from the lemur's back and tossed it to Aviva. Then he let the little animal loose again.

Aviva stared. The inside of the container was a mess of wires and blinking lights. This wasn't the right place to start, so she moved on to the smaller device. Much better. Soon she had it deactivated and one of the blinking lights inside the main unit went out.

"Hurry, guys! I need those other two lemurs!"

"Working on it!" Koki called, about to nab another one. "There! Hold on, little guy, I'll get this off."

Within seconds, Aviva had the second device disabled. And miraculously, the third one followed shortly after. Now it was time for the crew to step back and let her work uninterrupted. The room fell into an intense quiet. Even the other animals in their cages could tell something big was going on and stayed still.

It was down to the wire now in every sense of the phrase. Aviva had twenty seconds to make a decision that could make or break this entire operation.

"I have to cut one of these wires," she murmured, "but which one? Red, orange, blue…? They're all different colors and thicknesses!" She stared into the container, seeming to weigh the consequences in an internal battle that only she could fathom.

Ten seconds…

"Um…Aviva?" Jimmy started.

"Shh!" She shushed him.

Nine seconds…eight…seven…

"It has to be this one." She reached in with the wire cutters.

…six…five…four…

The others flinched, preparing themselves for the worst.

…three…two…

Just before the last digit signaled the end of everything, Aviva's hand twitched to he left two centimeters and she snipped the orange wire, not the blue one she'd been aiming for.

The countdown froze on one.


	15. Have a Nice Day

**Chapter 15**

**Have a Nice Day**

Aviva opened first one eye, then the other, not even daring to breathe as she stared dumbstruck at the timer. Her split-second decision to cut the orange wire instead of the blue had done the trick. How she ever came to that conclusion, whether it was pure luck or gut instinct, she couldn't be sure. The important thing was they were all still in one piece. She stood and spun around to face the other crew members.

"WE'RE ALIIIIIIIVE!" Jimmy screamed in sheer happiness and flung his arms around a stunned Koki, squeezing her so hard her eyes bugged out.

"AACK!" she squawked.

Aviva couldn't help feeling a bit ecstatic herself. "I…I don't believe it! We did it! We got past Zach's defense system and stopped the bomb! Woo hoooo!" She jumped up and down a couple times.

"_Oh_ yeah!" Jimmy let go of Koki to fist-pump the air.

"Uh-_huh_!" Koki echoed the celebratory sentiments. "Savin' the day with tech crew powers! That's right!"

"Hmmmph!" Martin protested from behind them.

The three teammates stopped high-fiving and turned to see the brothers glaring at them expectantly. In their moment of triumph, they'd almost forgotten they were still sitting there waiting.

"Oops!" Aviva said as they rushed to untie them. "Sorry…" She pulled the material away from Martin's mouth.

"I _told_ you it was a bomb!" he said.

Aviva sighed, rolling her eyes and smiling slightly. "Yeah, thanks for the tip, Martin."

"You're welcome."

"Blech!" Chris spat, trying to get the taste of the cloth out of his mouth as Koki slid it off his face. "Thanks, Koki!" He craned his head around to scowl at Martin. "Ok, bro. _I'm_ coming up with the plan next time we run into trouble! Can we _not_ do anything like this again? _Please_?"

Martin hung his head. "I know, I know. The whole 'being the villain' thing was a stupid idea. I get it already. Worst creature adventure _ever_!"

"But you guys kept all these animals from being eaten!" Aviva said, trying to cheer him up. "That's pretty impressive!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"And now we can put them back in the wild where they belong!" Jimmy added as he finally managed to loosen the knot in the ropes with a little help from Koki.

"Oh, by the way, Jimmy," Chris asked, rubbing his arms as the ropes fell away, "what's with the new hairstyle?"

Koki and Aviva giggled behind hands as Jimmy pouted.

"He did us a favor and found out what was wrong with the Tortuga," Aviva snorted.

"Yeah, by becoming a human power plant!" Koki finished.

Martin stood up and ruffled Jimmy's orange frizz. "Cool. It's really hip…in a weird…'staticky' sort of way."

"Since when are you a top fashion consultant?" Chris asked, grinning as he nudged his brother in the side.

"Ow! Hey, I had to hang out with Donita, ok?!"

"Huh, better than what I had to go through in the kitchen with Gourmand."

"How _did _you sabotage the banquet and that guy's ridiculous sense of smell?"

Chris shrugged. "I came up with a recipe for homemade lava. And the food? Well, it was just a bunch of trash from the dumpster outside."

"Wait, are you saying you went dumpster-diving for dinner?"

"Yup."

"Then that explains the smell—ow!" Martin got another jab from Chris's elbow. "What was that for?! How could I _not_ notice that when I've been sitting here tied to you for who knows how long?"

"Ok, break it up, guys," Aviva intervened before Chris could get in another elbow. "We should start moving if we want to take all these creatures back to their homes."

"Guess you're right," Chris agreed, but then a thought visibly occurred to him. "Aviva, how did you find us and get down here with a whole convention of bad guys upstairs?"

"Yeah," Martin chimed in. "We didn't even last a full day against them and yet you just waltz in under their noses! What's your secret?"

Koki put an arm around Aviva's shoulder, throwing them a sly grin. "Tech crew powers, bros, tech crew powers."

"And pizza!" Jimmy added.

xxxx

Zach opened the bottom door to the basement, having finally managed to pry his way out of the pitch-dark ballroom and escape from the horde of angry villains. He hadn't heard any explosion…and that was because there hadn't been one. He stared disbelievingly into the room. It was completely empty except for a pair of overturned chairs and a pile of limp ropes in the center. All the animals had vanished. So had those annoying Wild Rats.

He was about to start ripping out his hair when a small scrap of lined paper attached to one of the chairs caught his eye. Quickly, he stepped over and picked it up. It was a note.

_Greetings, genius!_

_ Looks like your new defense system still needs some work. Good luck with that! Oh, and Chris and Martin say you have mold in your basement. Thought you might want to know so you can get it taken care of. And by the way, it's Wild __KRATTS__. Have a nice day!_

_ Sincerely,_

_ The Wild Kratts Team_

Zach dropped the paper in total shock. After a few seconds, he commenced kicking one of the chairs in an angry tantrum.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid—" he stopped as his eyes started to water. Then he grabbed his foot, hopping around on one leg. "MOMMMYYYY! OW, OW, OW, OW!"

**The End**


End file.
